HIGH street chains that choose to go cashless are a headache for hard-up folks desperate for more budget.
The post office this week reported a 20 percent increase in the number of customers collecting notes at its branches compared to last year.
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A spokesperson said: “We are seeing more and more people relying more and more on cash as the proven way to manage a budget.
“Our latest figures clearly show that Britain is anything but a cashless society.”
We went to three cities and found that some of the biggest chains – including Pizza Hut, Prezzo and Cote brasseries – are out of cash.
Of the seven locations visited in Londonsix would not take notes or coins.
This is what we found in the capital, Birmingham and Newcastle.
London – 86% did not accept cash
OUR first stop in London was pizza and pasta favorite Prezzo in Islington, where signs immediately made it clear it was card only.
The entire chain went cash-free upon reopening afterwards Covid.
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The staff told us the decision was initially a “health and safety issue”, but people often ask if they can use cash.
Near pizza hut we were told that all of his restaurants no longer accept cash either.
The Shoreditch branch of sushi chain Itsu is also cashless, as are the rest of its nationwide stores.
An employee there told us how a customer was so furious that he yelled at them, “It’s against the law to refuse my money.”
coffee chain ready to eat in Shoreditch was a place that accepted cash – although some of the other 300 London restaurants no longer do.
CroydonKokoro’s Korean-Japanese restaurant stopped accepting cash after the pandemic.
But Tajamal Hussain, who owns the Majic Corn sweetcorn stall in the city, said, “I’m probably losing 45 percent of customers because they can’t pay by card.”
Harvey Woolgar, manager of The Butchery in Spitalfields Market, which only works with cards, was happy to get rid of cash.
He said: “It’s safer, easier and it prevents us from having to go to the bank all the time.”
Martin Foster runs The Indians Next Door and sells Indian snacks nearby. It also went cashless.
He said: “We use contactless because of the security with the staff.”
Birmingham – 50% did not accept cash
For most of the past 150 years, Birmingham’s Great Western Arcade has been full of customers spending money.
But change is in the air.
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James Morris, 29, who runs Morridge, a card-only coffee and porridge shop there, said: “It’s more convenient for our accounting software, we don’t have to pay for cash delivery, phone payments are much more efficient, and we don’t have to pay for cash delivery at the end. not to spend 15 minutes of the day cashing in.”
In the same row, Ashley Johnson, 23, at Miss Macaroon, which sells sweet treats, said it was a matter of hygiene when serving and packaging goods for customers.
At the nearby Bread Collection bakery, assistant Jurate Senauaiene agreed, saying, “We’ve always only accepted cards rather than cash for hygiene reasons.”
But Adrian Gale, of the specialty sandwich bar Gupshup in Colmore Row, said cash and card purchases were still what customers expected.
He added: “Considering how many businesses have struggled during the lockdown, I would have thought that everyone would just be happy to take money in any way they can.”
Daisy Nyamie, 36, of The Hat Shop in Great Western, said it was mostly tourists who wanted cash after exchanging currencies.
Tara Gahir, 53, at Mr Simms candy store in Great Western, said: “I can’t understand merchants saying no to cash. You have to earn your money in every possible way these days.”
Newcastle – 43% did not accept cash
IN Newcastle, the number of note-taking places still outnumbered the cash-free shops and restaurants – but only slightly.
When our reporter entered the Japanese lunch chain? Yo! Sushi and asked to pay for a drink with cash, they told her this was not possible and there was no money on the premises.
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A few shops away, fast food chains? McDonald’s and burger king offered the option to pay cash at the till.
But McDonald’s has installed many remote ordering screens that only accept cards and only had one cash register.
When asked if they accept cash at Brasserie Cote, an employee replied: “We don’t, I’m sorry. It is a company-wide policy. We have no cash on site.”
None of the restaurant’s 500 branches now accept cash.
Local bakery Cake Stories refused to accept cash.
Declan Tinsley, the general manager of the Jesmond store, said: “It’s easier to keep track of the money and there’s less room for human error.”
In coffee chain Black coffeecash was accepted.
Last year a branch in Canterbury, Kent, infuriated some local residents by going cashless, but that has yet to be rolled out nationwide.
Our money was also accepted in KFCas it would be at all 800-plus of the fast food outlet’s locations across the country.
One employee said, “It’s about giving people options.”
Law says stores don’t have to accept cash
MOST people think it is their right to use cash to pay for goods in the stores. But the reality is that is not the case.
Even though our cents and pounds are often referred to as legal tender, it is actually the business owner’s right to decide which payment methods to accept.
After an online petition was launched to make it illegal for stores to refuse cash, government confirmed in April that it has no intention of requiring cash underwriting.
Cash transactions remain important to millions, especially the frail and elderly, but it is the choice of individual companies.
As we move closer to a cashless society, I am concerned about the elderly and the most vulnerable as many depend on cash for budgeting and it is easy to overspend if you have a Map.
With so many people still dependent on, or happy to use, notes and loose change, it really makes sense that businesses would continue to accept it.